Jazz Choir
Competition - January 24, 2015

by Griffin Toffler

This is a review of the choral competition at the
Jazz Festival. For more information about the Festival as a whole, you
can look up my companion article about the Folsom Jazz Festival Band and
Combo Competition (click
here). I am starting with a review of the Folsom High School
Choir, which I chose to feature because of its excellence and because
Folsom High School is the host of the event and therefore does not
compete, even though they are given a rating and this year their rating
was the highest of the choral groups.

Folsom High School Choir I was directed by Curtis Gaesser.
(For more on Curtis Gaesser, see my companion review on the Folsom Jazz
Festival Jazz Band competition.) The names of the musicians are not
given in written form, so I can only report what instruments were
played, as I could not get the information that was announced by the
students at the microphones.

The group started with a rendition of “Give Me the Simple Life” by
Harry Ruby and Rube Bloom. It was sung a cappella and masterfully
done with some excellent vocal solos. The next number was “Canyon Dust,”
written in 2011 by Becca Stevens, a contemporary
composer/singer/performer in New York City. This piece had difficult
rhythmic changes that the choir made sound easy. I wish I could tell you
the name of the pianist. He was awesome. “The Hymn of Acxiom,” written
by American songwriter Vienna Teng in 2013 followed. This is an unusual
piece with strange harmonies that get under your skin. The choir was
amazing, extracting raw emotion from the work. The enunciation was also
excellent. I got chills listening to this one. The set finished with
“Feelin' Good,” written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the
1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd.

Birds flying high you know how I feel.
Sun in the sky you know how I feel.
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel.

It's a new dawn.
It's a new day.

It's a new life for me
And I'm feelin' good.

There was expert solo scat singing, and one of the singers took to
the flute for an accomplished solo. This upbeat piece was delightful and
convincing, and I was enticed to "feelin' good." The accompaniment was
stand-up bass, piano and drums. The hall was packed for this
performance, and the choir received a well-deserved standing ovation. I
recommend you get out to hear this choir. It is not often you get a
spine-tingler of a musical performance, whatever the genre. For me, the
spine tingling experience is a litmus test that I am seeing the real
thing.

Your next opportunity to see Folsom Lake High School Choir is at a
fundraiser on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. at the Folsom
Community Center, 52 Natoma St. in Folsom. Here is a
link to the event.

Downey High School, located near Los Angeles, had a cool
sound, and did a lovely rendition and arrangement of the standard,
“Tenderly.” They were accompanied by stand-up bass, drums, keyboard, and
rhythm guitar.

Corte Madera 7 is from Portola Valley. The choir was all girls
and the oldest appeared to be about 13. They certainly deserved to be in
the competition because their skill level was that good. When the
youngest (maybe 8 or 9 years old) hit the mic for a scat solo, the
audience responded with cheers. They sang three pieces including “Hit
That Jive, Jack!,” first performed in 1941 by Tolbert Skeets and His
Gentlemen of Swing. They were accompanied by a stand-up bass, drums and
piano.

Natomas High School was composed of 12 boys and girls and a
bass, piano and drums. This was the first group that I saw that was
dressed more creatively. The colors were black and gold but the clothes
were not identical. There were no neckties but one boy did sport a bow
tie. It had a nice look. They performed 3 songs accompanied by bass,
piano and drums. They started with “Beautiful Love,” a waltz written by
the Wayne King Orchestra in 1931. They also performed the standard,
“Tenderly,” arranged by Steve Zegree. The finale was “Virtual Insanity”
by the British funk and acid jazz band, Jamiroquai and arranged by Kerry
Marsh. These kids are great and every number was expertly done, so they
are definitely worth going to see. Natomas was one of the winning choirs
and since they are a local group, you can see them perform in May.
Here
is a link for that event.

The Choral Competition is a welcome performance of songs chosen for
appropriate and mostly positive lyrics. It is great to go to a concert
knowing that you will be uplifted. The performances were entertaining
and fun to watch and many seemed downright professional. Each singer had
their own microphone, and I found the mix to be very good and
attentively done for each performing group. There are many other reasons
you will want to attend this event. One could be to increase your
repertoire if you are a musician yourself. I got exposed to so many good
songs which I would not have otherwise come across. As I continue to
search for songs of superior musicianship and positive lyrics for myself
and for my students, this affordable event is a go-to for me for years
to come.

If you are looking for an amazing day of jazz choral singing at an
affordable price, you have hit the jackpot. You are sure to see
top-quality groups if you look up when and where the winning groups of
the previous year will be singing before attending in 2016. You will
definitely want to check out the hottest choral group in the California
School System, Folsom High School Jazz Choir. The only reason they did
not win the competition is that they are the host school and are not
officially allowed to compete.

An added bonus is that your attendance includes entry to see the
featured artists. The Festival is sure to bring in some great
internationally known talent for the final show of the evening, so do
take advantage of that! You can read more about that concert in my
review on the band competition. (Click
here.) And here they are,
the winners of the choral competition in 2015:

#1 Natomas Charter School
#2 Enterprise High School
#3 Natomas Charter School
#4 Maria Carillo High School

So look up the program online and print it out when next year comes
around. Then go pay your $12 and seek out the chosen choirs, and I can
assure you that you'll have a great experience. But don't forget: it
isn't about winning a competition. All of these kids are winners simply
by being there, and your support is going to be felt, whatever school
you choose to tune into.

Griffin Toffler attended
Longy School of Music and Morehead University as a music major for 3
years. Although she went on to be successful in her field after
obtaining an MA in Clinical Psychology at John F. Kennedy University,
she has often thought of returning to college to complete her degree in
music education. She is currently taking conducting classes at CSU
Stanislaus. Her first voice teacher, Olga Averino, was a major influence
in Griffin's life. Griffin hopes to, in some small way, pass on to
others some of the wisdom she learned from Madame Averino. Her
website is www.griffintoffler.com.